However, the ayat in Surat Al-Ma’arij uses a more general description that further defines the nature of charitable giving.

One of the scholars’ opinions is that this ayat refers to someone who, even after paying zakat, STILL fixes a certain amount of charity to give on a regular basis. Just like we are obligated to pray the fard 5-daily prayers, we are still encouraged to go beyond eg. the nawafil. Similarly, these people are motivated & have the discipline to spend in charity beyond zakat on a regular basis because they want to please Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) & help mankind.

The next ayat describes 2 groups of people to be charitable to:

Saa’il – those who ask for help. This refers to the needy. Those who are born in poverty, whose situation has become so dire & desperate that they ask for help.

Mahroom – those who are deprived financially / materialistically to fulfil their basic needs & are too humble to ask for help from others. This refers to those who don’t always live in poverty but are put in a situation that changed drastically eg. due to natural disasters or financially-hard times. Even though they don’t ask for help, we should not neglect them.

We should be motivated to spend charity beyond zakat on a regular basis. At the end of this passage, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) said:

Gems extracted by Aida Msr – Aida is a fellow sister and friend from Malaysia. She aspires to continuously learn, improve and be a better Muslimah. Today’s media age, in which we are constantly exposed with negative influences, she believes it is our responsibility to put the media to better use by reaching out and reminding others what Allah has commanded in Surah Al-Asr. She prays that the imprints she leaves behind will be beneficial to others.